The present invention relates to a zero emission propulsion system and generator sets using ammonia (NH.sub.3) as fuel for engines and power plants such as steam boilers (5) for steam turbines (7), piston engines (9), fuel cells (10) or Stirling engines (11). Due to the poor flammability of ammonia (NH.sub.3), a hydrogen reactor (4) can split ammonia (NH.sub.3) into hydrogen (H.sub.2) and nitrogen (N.sub.2). The hydrogen (H.sub.2) can be placed in a hydrogen tank (8) for intermediate storage and the nitrogen can be stored in a nitrogen tank (6). The hydrogen (H.sub.2) could be mixed with ammonia (NH.sub.3) to improve flammability and thus facilitate the ignition of an air/ammonia (NH.sub.3) mixture in engines or power plants (5, 9, 11). Alternatively, hydrogen (¾) may be supplied in a separate fuel system (5-1, 9-5, 11-8) as a pilot fuel for pilot ignition of an air/ammonia (NH3) mixture. The hydrogen (H.sub.2) can also be used in AIP systems along with oxygen (O2) from an oxygen tank (22). The hydrogen (H.sub.2) will then be used for fuel cells (10), for combustion in a steam turbine inlet/high pressure side (7-1), or in a Stirling engine (11). In addition to hydrogen (H.sub.2), other bio and fossil fuels from the fuel tank (12) can be used as pilot fuel for pilot ignition of an air/ammonia (NH.sub.3) mixture. The advantage of using existing bio or fossil fuels for pilot ignition is that engines or power plants (5, 9, 11) will have a pilot fuel system with sufficient capacity to maintain normal operations if ammonia (NH.sub.3) is not available. Alternatively, that engines or power plants (5, 9, 11) have an additional fuel system for existing bio or fossil fuels in order to maintain normal operations if ammonia (NH.sub.3) is not available. The nitrogen (N.sub.2) in the nitrogen tank (6) can be used as a gas in fire extinguishing systems or for submarine ballast tank blows.

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle, system, and method for on-board catalytic upgrading of hydrocarbon fuels. In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a vehicle may include, amongst other things, an internal combustion engine configured to provide motive force to the vehicle, an unreformed fuel subsystem, a reformed fuel subsystem, and a fuel system control architecture. The unreformed fuel subsystem may be structurally configured to transfer unreformed hydrocarbon fuel from the on-board point-of-sale fuel tank to the internal combustion engine. The reformed fuel subsystem may be structurally configured to reform hydrocarbon fuel from the on-board point-of-sale fuel tank and transfer reformed fuel to the internal combustion engine along a reformed fuel supply pathway separated from the unreformed fuel supply pathway. The fuel system control architecture may include a reformate flow control device and a cetane rating controller. The cetane rating controller and the reformate flow control device may cooperate to deliver an upgraded hydrocarbon fuel to a combustion zone of the internal combustion engine.

The present invention discloses a control method of variable stroke engine for reforming high-octane fuel under the FCE mode, the ECU connected to the engine controls the amount of fuel injected from the flexible cylinder injector to the flexible cylinder and controls the switch state of inlet valve and exhaust valve of the flexible cylinder, so that the flexible cylinder can be switched between two-stroke mode and four-stroke mode according to the actual engine operating conditions; when the engine is at a small load and needs to promote combustion stability, the flexible cylinder injector injects a rich fuel with equivalence ratio greater than 1 into the flexible cylinder, the flexible cylinder is at two-stroke mode; when the engine is at a large load and needs sufficient power output, the flexible cylinder injector injects a conventional fuel into the flexible cylinder, said flexible cylinder is at four-stroke mode.

An internal combustion engine including a fuel reformation cylinder for reforming a fuel and an output cylinder for yielding an engine power by combusting a fuel or a reformed fuel, wherein at least a part of the surfaces constituting a volume-variable reaction chamber of the fuel reformation cylinder has a highly heat-insulative material.

Optimized alcohol and plasma enhanced prechambers for engines powered by gasoline and other fuels are used to increase the range of prechamber operation and to reduce soot. The increased prechamber capability is employed to extend the limit of lean operation of the engines. It can also be used to extend the limit of heavy EGR operation and to enable higher RPM operation. The amount of alcohol used in the prechamber is preferably less than 2% of the fuel that is used in the engine cylinder. The alcohol for the prechamber can be entirely provided by onboard separation from a gasoline-alcohol fuel mixture.

This invention provides means and a method to eliminate emissions from an internal combustion engine during cold-starts and warm-starts. An oxidizer intake valve external to the engine head and an exhaust valve following the after-treatment system and condensing heat exchanger are closed, thus sealing all gasses inside the engine and the exhaust after-treatment system before starting the engine. Oxygen and hydrogen are used as the oxidizer and fuel to start this engine and operate this engine until the exhaust after-treatment systems have reached their required operating temperatures. This emissions-free startup system works equally well on two, four, six, or eight stroke engines, one or multiple cylinder engines, and spark or compression ignition engines. This invention also provides a means and method to clean the interior of an engine and the after-treatment systems of soot, particulate, and the catalytic surfaces without disassembling the engine or the after-treatment systems.

An internal combustion engine in which a fuel reforming operation in a fuel reformation cylinder is not executed and a warming operation for raising the temperature of the fuel reformation cylinder is executed, when a gas temperature of a fuel reformation chamber at a time point when a piston in the fuel reformation cylinder reaches a compression top dead point is estimated to fall short of a reforming operation allowable lower limit gas temperature. For example, EGR gas is introduced to the fuel reformation chamber without cooling the EGR gas. Further, during a predetermined period from the expansion stroke to an exhaust stroke of an output cylinder, exhaust gas warming fuel is supplied to a combustion chamber. Further, the fuel is combusted in the fuel reformation chamber.

In an aspect, a system includes a mixer configured to mix a fuel stream with a solvent to form a mixed stream, the solvent having a higher affinity for a second component of the fuel stream than for a first component of the fuel stream. The system includes a first separator configured to separate the mixed stream into (i) a first fuel fraction including the first component of the fuel stream and (ii) a mixed fraction including the second component of the fuel stream based on a difference in volatility of the first fuel fraction and the mixed fraction. The system includes a second separator configured to separate the mixed fraction into a second fuel fraction including the second component of the fuel stream and a solvent fraction.

A system and method of managing an on-demand electrolytic reactor for supplying hydrogen and oxygen gas to an internal combustion engine. The system minimizes reactor's power consumption and parasitic energy loss generally associated with perpetual reactors. The system comprises a plurality of sensors coupled to the reactor measuring a plurality of reactor parameters, an electronic control unit coupled to the plurality of sensors and the engine, and a reactor control board coupled to the reactor and the electronic control unit. The electronic control unit: monitors the plurality of reactor parameters and the plurality of engine parameters; determines a reactor performance level; determines an engine performance level; determines a change in the engine performance level to forecast a future engine demand level; and determines an ideal reactor performance level corresponding to the engine performance level or the future engine demand level. The reactor control board regulates the reactor by modifying at least one of electrical current supplied to the reactor, electrical voltage supplied to the reactor, and temperature of the reactor.

A system and method of managing an on-demand electrolytic reactor for supplying hydrogen and oxygen gas to an internal combustion engine. The system minimizes reactor's power consumption and parasitic energy loss generally associated with perpetual reactors. The system comprises a plurality of sensors coupled to the reactor measuring a plurality of reactor parameters, an electronic control unit coupled to the plurality of sensors and the engine, and a reactor control board coupled to the reactor and the electronic control unit. The electronic control unit: monitors the plurality of reactor parameters and the plurality of engine parameters; determines a reactor performance level; determines an engine performance level; determines a change in the engine performance level to forecast a future engine demand level; and determines an ideal reactor performance level corresponding to the engine performance level or the future engine demand level. The reactor control board regulates the reactor by modifying at least one of electrical current supplied to the reactor, electrical voltage supplied to the reactor, and temperature of the reactor.